John Wall could be taking home an award this season.
The biggest offseason news for the LA Clippers this year was the signing of veteran guard John Wall after he reached a buyout with the Houston Rockets. That acquisition is something that has seemed to bolster the Clippers’ depth and potentially increased their title chances. But that’s not all.
According to ESPN, Wall might be doing some winning of his own this season.
The publication had a panel that voted on all of the major awards, and Wall ended up finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year polling. Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors got 77.8% of the first-place votes, essentially making him by far the odds-on favorite for the award.
Malcolm Brogdon, who the Boston Celtics acquired via trade from the Indiana Pacers this offseason, finished second in the polling by registering 16.7% of the first-place votes. John Wall then came in third with 5.6%. They were the only players to receive a first-place vote.
Wall, 31, hasn’t played in an NBA game since Apr. 23, 2021, and has only played in 40 games total since January 2019. During the last season he played, Wall averaged 20.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds on 40.4% shooting with the Rockets.
Notably absent from the award polling was Norman Powell, who the Clippers acquired back in February alongside Robert Covington. Powell didn’t receive a single vote from the panel.
Despite being limited to five games with the Clippers last season due to injury, Powell averaged 21.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 50.8% shooting. Powell knocked down 54.2% of his 3s and averaged 7.0 free throw attempts per game. Wall and Powell could potentially make a pretty lethal duo off the bench.
It’ll be interesting to see how the votes are divvied out between the two should they both meet the heights that they’re expected to reach. But for now, Wall is one of the early front runners for Sixth Man of the Year.
Should Wall win the award, it’d be the sixth time a member of the Clippers nabbed the trophy, further extending their NBA lead in that category.
You can find Justin Russo’s daily content on the LA Clippers by subscribing to his Patreon feed, and you can also follow him on Twitter at @FlyByKnite.